Why Amy Schumer Dropped Out Of Barbie

Everything we've seen and heard regarding Greta Gerwig's absolutely fabulous-looking "Barbie" so far suggests the "Lady Bird" and "Little Women" writer/director was truly destined to make this movie. However, those who've long kept a close eye on Barbara Millicent Roberts' journey to starring in her very own live-action vehicle will no doubt recall that we nearly got what would've almost certainly been a strikingly different take on the Mattel IP. Indeed, one of the film's early iterations had Amy Schumer attached to star, back when Sony held the rights instead of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Under Sony's supervision, "Barbie" was being written by Hilary Winston, a scribe whose credits includes multiple episodes of the cult comedy series "Community" and "Happy Endings," in addition to kid-friendly animated films like "The LEGO Ninjago Movie" and "The Bad Guys." The plan was for Schumer and her sister, Kim Caramele, to then come in and revise Winston's script draft. Ultimately, though, the whole thing fell apart after Schumer dropped out over what she referred to as a "scheduling conflict" with another unspecified project. As it turns out, those who smelled something fishy at the time were right to trust their noses.

In point of fact, during a recent appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," the multi-hyphenate admitted this was really just a cover for some good old-fashioned creative differences between her and Sony. She explained (via Variety):

"I can't wait to see the ['Barbie'] movie, it looks awesome. I think we said it was scheduling conflicts, that's what we said. But yeah, it really was just creative differences. But you know, there's a new team behind it, and it looks like it's very feminist and cool so I will be seeing the movie."

Early signs indicate Greta Gerwig and her co-writer Noah Baumbach have retained the family-oriented vibe that Sony was assumingly going for with "Barbie," while at the same time injecting it with an unexpected yet, in hindsight, kind of perfect dose of spiritual philosophy. Gerwig also seems to have taken an unapologetically feminist approach to the "Barbie" mythology, creating a universe populated by Barbies of varying races, body types, and ambitions. The Kens, on the other hand, all appear to be slightly different flavors of himbo, but it's possible the film has some surprises up its sleeve in that department.

Setting aside my own personal beef with Amy Schumer (I'm still side-eying her for rolling with the Oscars writers' disrespectful animation jokes from last year, among other things), I can believe that the "Inside Amy Schumer" and "Trainwreck" writer/star had better ideas about what to do with "Barbie" than Sony did. She's alluded to this in the past, too, telling The Hollywood Reporter back in March 2022, "They definitely didn't want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it." Schumer added that she should've cottoned onto this as soon as they sent her a pair of Manolo Blahniks in celebration: 

"The idea that that's just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, 'You've got the wrong gal.'"

Thankfully, the "Barbie" we are getting instead has out-and-proud lesbian Kate McKinnon encouraging Margot Robbie's Barbie to try on a pair of Birkenstocks and see how she likes them.

"Barbie" opens in theaters on July 21, 2023.